Summary
The species diversity was high in the Kattegat when considering the season but the total cell numbers were low. In the Skagerrak the diversity was a bit lower. Only Släggö could be sampled in Skagerrak during this cruise. The Plankton community along the Swedish west coast had a traditional winter composition with a dominance of diatoms. Both Skeletonema marinoi and the genus Pseudo-nitzschia dominated at all stations. The integrated chlorophyll concentrations (0-10m and 0-20 m) were within normal for this month at all stations. Diversity and cell abundance of phytoplankton were low in the Baltic Sea, with mostly smaller cells such as Cryptomonadales and smaller Gymnodiniales. The centric diatom Actinocyclus octonarius was present at all stations. At BY31 and BY38 the toxin-producing Dinophysis acuminata* was present. The integrated chlorophyll concentrations (0-10m and 0-20 m) were within the normal range for this month at all stations, except at BY32 where they were higher than normal.